|
|
Links: 76er News: 8/08/08: State Tournament The AV - EP game over the last three years has been played on the winners side of the State Tournament bracket. This year the two teams faced off after each team had been beaten and were moved into the losers bracket. Eden Prairie proved to be the better team as their defense made all the plays while the 76ers errors gave the EP team too many extra outs. The 76ers made a strong effort at a comeback in the 6th Inning by scoring 6 runs to tie the score at 8 - 8. But in the 7th EP scored 9 runs on 5 hits and 5 errors. Final score was 18 - 8. AV 76ers were eliminated and EP moved on. The 76ers finished with a 31 - 16 record on the year. 8/08/08: State Tournament In the losers bracket the 76ers faced Wilmar and from the 1st Inning it appeared that the 76ers were the better team. 6 singles, a walk and a sac fly lead to a four run inning. In the 2nd on a rbi triple by Cory Eul scoring Matt Gurtcheff and then Eul scoring on a sac fly by Brandon Peterson, the lead became 6-0. In the 4th, 4 more runs were scored with singles by Peterson and Fabry, a walk by Jordan Buck, a bases clearing double by Boomer Hermes and a run scoring single by Aaron Gretz. Wilmar got on the board with runs in the 4th and 6th for a 10 - 2 76er lead. 76ers added one run in the 7th putting the score 11 - 2 after 7. Wilmar came to life in the 8th and 9th Innins scoring 4 runs in the 8th and 5 runs in the 9th. 76er bats came alive in the 9th to score four and the final was 15 - 11 76ers. 8/07/08: State Tournament The 76ers opened their State Tournament play with North St Paul. Some fans described this game similar to a boxing match with two heavy weight fighters trading punches. In the 4th Inning with North St Paul leading 1 - 0, the 76ers scored 7 runs on eight hits. Homeruns during the inning were hit by Cory Eul (2 run) and Aaron Gretz (3 run). In the 5th and 6th Innings North St Paul came back with 9 runs to pull ahead 10-8. But in the 7th Inning the 76ers tied the game at 10 - 10 with a 2 run homer by Erik Fabry. North St Paul came right back with 2 runs to take a 12 - 10 lead. In the 8th Inning the 76ers scored three runs, 2 from a Brandon Peterson Homerun with Matt Bodin aboard by a walk and Erik Fabry scored the winner on a Sac fly by Boomer Hermes. David Sampson relieved in the 9th by getting a groundout and two strikeouts to get the save and the 76er win. 13 - 12. In the evening session the 76ers faced the St Cloud 76ers (SC Tech). St Cloud scored 7 runs in the 1st Inning and never bothered to look back as they destroyed our 76ers 18 - 6 and moved them into the losers bracket. 7/30/08: In game 5 of the opening round of the 3rd District Tournament, Apple Valley out hit the Woodbury Blue team 13 - 8 and went on to win 7 - 4. Woodbury, in the top of the first inning got on the board for a 1 - 0 lead but th e 76ers came right back in the bottom of the first to tie the game. Trenton Pray hit a double over the center fielders' head and Cory Eul got the RBI with a single to left center to score Pray. In the 3rd inning Woodbury scored twice to take a 3 - 1 lead. The 76ers chipped away and scored single runs in the 3rd and 4th innings. After 4 complete innings the score was tied at 3 - 3. Woodbury scored their last run in the 5th inning, but with two out in the bottom half of the 5th, Cory Eul doubled and scored on Brandon Peterson's double. Peterson then scored on Erik Fabry's single to make the score 5 - 4 in favor of the 76ers. Starting pitcher Joe Erb closed out the 5th and 6th innings without giving up any more runs. Blake Fangel came in to pitch the scoreless 7th, 8th & 9th and got the save. Joe Erb got the win. In the bottom of the 8th, Boomer Hermes and Aaron Gretz got back to back singles and Matt Gurtcheff hit a double to score both runners to increase the lead. Final: 76ers 7 Woodbury 4. The 76ers play Thursday night at 7:30PM at Dundas against West St Paul who beat New Prague 10 - 5 to advance. 7/28/08: Our 76ers narrowly defeated Farmington Saturday in a dogfight that was an elimination game for Farmington. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, Farmington had the bases loaded and were on their way to tying the game. Cory Eul had pitched 8 - 2/3 strong Innings but handed the ball over to David Sampson for the last out. David struck out the last batter to save the win and eliminate Farmington. The win moves the 76ers into the 16 Team Double Elimination 3rd District Tournament. Their opponent will be #19 seeded Woodbury Blue who defeated #14 Plato to move into the District Tourny. The game will be played at Dundas at 5PM on Wednesday. The 76ers enter the tournament as the # 3 seed. Complete bracket is available on the 2008 3rd District Tourny page by clicking on this page or on the menu to the left. 7/26/08: 76ers will play Farmington today at Farmington 1PM. 76ers lead best of three Sub-District series 1 - 0 after 17-2 win Friday night. The 76ers were led by pitcher Joe Erb and the hitting of Brandon Peterson (2-4, HR, 2RBI) and Cory Eul (2-3, 4RBI). 6/30/08: Tonight's game with Eagan was closely played by both teams and Eagan won in the bottom of the ninth with a bloop single to right field to score the winner. With this game June 2008 is complete and in the books. The 76ers have compiled a 12-4 Win - Loss record with a League "D" record of 5 -2. July begins with a non conference (but 3rd District game) at New Prague Tuesday and League "D" rival Rosemount at home on Wednesday before the Midwest Classic weekend tournament in New Ulm. Tournament play begins Friday morning versus Creighton Prep of Omaha at 10AM at Johnson Field. 6/27/08: By email we were notified that opponents have changed for our first two games in Maple Grove Tournament this weekend. Friday 5:45PM opponent at Osseo HS Field is Maple Lake and Saturday 3:00PM opponent at Champlin Park HS Field is Bloomington Blue. Centennial is still Saturday 5:45PM opponent and will be played at Osseo HS. 6/19/08: The 76ers have a 4 game winning streak going to begin this year's season and will travel this weekend to take in the St Cloud Legion Tournment. During the four game streak the pitching staff has allowed only 21 runs, but the bats have been an equal story as the offense has scored 60 runs. In St Cloud the 76ers will open the tournament versus Monticello at 10AM on Friday, and at 5:30PM play the St Cloud Chutes. Play continues through Saturday and Sunday at Faber & Putz Fields in Waite Park. 6/15/08:The AV Legion players were introduced to new 76er assistant coach, the former major league player and coach, Al Newman of the Minnesota Twins. Coach Newman was a member of both the Twins' 1987 and 1991 World Champions. Now living in the area "Newmie," as he prefers to be called, was looking to get into youth coaching and keep close to the game. Coach Bruce Young explained, " Not only will our players benefit from "Newmies" experiences, but so will the coaches. You never stop learning this game. And Al Newman has a wealth of baseball knowledge to pass on to all of us." 5/5/08: Tryouts for the 2008 version of our Apple Valley American Legion Team were held on Sunday. 43 players showed to fill 10 open positions. Returning players from last year's Great Lakes American Legion Regional Finalist are led by pitcher Joe Erb, and position players, Erik Fabry(CF), Cory Eul (SS,P) Brandon Peterson (OF) and Jordan Buck (C). Other returning players that will be heavily relied on are pitchers, Nick Elioff, Mark Radde and David Sampson. (The complete roster is listed on the menu to the right.) Play begins June 9th. See 2008 Schedule. 2/2/08: At the 3rd District Winter Coaches Meeting held at the Apple Valley American Legion Club, a couple of League Team members requested switching to different leagues for geographic and strength of opponent purposes. West St Paul and Northfield have changed. West St Paul moved to League F. Northfield moved to League C. Prior Lake and Lakeville South have moved to League D. Savage has dropped from play this year and Montgomery-Lonsdale was added to League B.
Thanks to Pottsmerc.com and Dennis Weller who was at this game Posted on Tue, Aug 21,2007
NorChester ends great run in Regional
By Dennis Weller
Special to The Mercury
MENOMINEE, Mich. — NorChester needed to win two games on the final day of the American Legion Great Lakes Regional Monday at Spies Field in order to advance to the World Series.
But the Bulldogs ran into a tough pitcher in the first one against Apple Valley, Minnesota, and were blanked on only one hit through the first eight innings.
Down by two runs and with the end of their season just three outs away, the Bulldogs finally made some noise in the ninth. Steve Lerch doubled in a run with one out, but that's all the Bulldogs could manage, and their outstanding season came to an end with a 2-1 setback.
The loss ended the best year ever for NorChester (36-15) as the Bulldogs finished third in the tournament and among the final 24 teams in the country.
“I’m so proud of the guys,” said manager Corbin Stoltzfus. “We once again raised the bar for NorChester baseball.”
The Bulldogs collected only four runners through the first eight frames against 76er right-hander Joe Erb (10-2) on two walks, a hit batter, and single by Harry Musser with two down in the fifth that bounced between the third baseman and the bag into left.
NorChester’s Matt Murray (10-2), who threw a 1-0 shutout on Friday night, pitched almost as well as he held Apple Valley (46-12) to just three hits and one earned run through seven. Then Mike Testa and Jeff Kelly combined to blank the Minnesota runner-up squad in the bottom of the eighth, giving the Bulldogs one last shot with the top of the order coming around.
Rodney Francis dribbled an 0-2 pitch past the third baseman for a single leading off the ninth and stole second with one down. Then Lerch ripped a double into left-center to knock in a run. But Erb, who struck out 10, got a pop to short and a fly to right to end the game.
“We weren’t going to go down without a whimper,” said Stoltzfus. “We weren’t taking a shutout. It was a Pyrrhic victory. Their pitcher did a nice job. He must have been deceptive because we had some very bad at bats and some ugly swings.”
“If we would have gone down without a fight, it would have been a sad ending,” said Adam Hartzell, who was the winning pitcher when NorChester won to stay alive on Sunday. “It just shows the heart of this team.”
Erb had been knocked around in a first-round loss to Rockport, Indiana, but had a good slider going against the Bulldogs.
“He just kept mixing everything up really well,” said Francis, who stole two bases to bring his season total to 50. “We started a little too late.”
The Bulldogs had won two on the final day in the Pennsylvania Region Three Tournament to advance to the state tournament, and would have had to beat Rockport in the nightcap had they been able to get by the 76ers.
“We’ve done it before,” said Murray, who walked two and fanned eight. “We’ve won two games before, but it just seemed we didn’t come out to play today. He (Erb) threw pretty fast and he had a very deceptive slider. It came to the plate looking like a fastball.
“Overall, we did very well this season. It’s been a long season. Everybody’s just really tired.”
NOTES
Francis, Hartzell, George Kochu, Justin Engelhardt, Ian Gervasi, and Lerch all played their last game for the Bulldogs. … Apple Valley went on to play Rockport for a trip to the World Series and Erb was slated to start that game for the 76ers and use up his last three innings of eligibility. ... Lerch batted .524 for the tournament and drove in eight runs. ... Murray fashioned a 0.56 ERA in 16 innings with 15 strikeouts. ... Musser and Francis both batted .412 and Francis scored seven and swiped six bases.
8/13/2007: State Tournament play began on Thursday with the 76ers playing Mankato. Mankato was outmanned and the 76ers easily won 25 - 9. TriCity Red was next and again the 76ers defeated their opponent with a 13 - 4 win. Thirteen runs seemed to be the norm as the 76ers then beat their next two opponents Centennial (13 - 2) and Eden Prairie (13 - 5). As the undefeated team the 76ers were humming along until Monday when they played Eden Prairie again and this time the bats went dormant and the pitching was not effective. Eden Prairie beat the 76ers 18 - 3 to win the Championship Game. The "IF" game was not played due to the rain storm delays earlier in the tournament and the need for the representative teams' information to be forwarded for regional play. Apple Valley advances to the Great Lakes Regional in Menomoniee, MI with play to begin on Thursday. (August 16th) 8/5/2007: The Third District was hosted by Apple Valley and co-hosted by Burnsville again this year. And it was those two teams that played for the Championship on Sunday. The 76ers had wins over Hastings (8-1), Lakeville North (5-4) and New Prague (6-1). The 76ers led the entire Championship game but in the ninth inning Burnsville pulled out the win to represent the Third District as the Champion in the State Tournament. Apple Valley advanced as the Runnerup and Lakeville North advanced as the Third Place team. The 76ers' record stands at 38 -10 going into the 2007 Minnesota State American Legion Tournament. State Tournament play begins on Thursday. 7/24/2007: Another winning streak, this time of seven games came to an end, in the Plover, Wisconsin Classic with a loss to the Depere, Wi team in the semi-finals. Chad Eul and Scott Lyden were honored in Plover with All- Tournament trophies making the All-Tournament team. Both players hit .613 for the weekend to earn the honors. The 76ers will play Northfield tonight and Mahtomedi Wednesday to wrap up the regular season. Both games are at Legion Field at 7PM. The 76ers were seeded in the number 2 spot behind Burnsville at the Coaches Seeding Meeting on Monday night. Sub-District play begins Friday night with the 76ers playing the winner of Waconia and Lonsdale. The 3rd District Double Elimination 16 Team Tournament play begins on August 1st and is hosted by Apple Valley and Co-Hosted by Burnsville and Eagan this year. Check out the 3rd District page for Sub-District pairings. 7/11/2007: A six game winning streak came to an end last night with a 14 - 4 loss to Burnsville at AliMagnet Park. While the 76ers matched Burnsville with 13 hits, walks and hit batsmen hurt the 76ers and the outcome. The 76ers record is now 21 - 6 with a League record of 9 - 3. Tonight the opponent is Hutchinson and Thursday New Prague. This weekend the 76ers host the Apple Valley Site of the Gopher Classic at Legion Field. Play begins Friday and continues through the weekend with the Championship game to be played at the Metrodome on Tuesday. The 76ers play at 5PM and 8PM on Friday and Saturday nights and at 8PM on Sunday night. Check the website menu at the right for the Gopher Classic opponents. New Ulm Tournament All stories copied from New Ulm Journal: Apple Valley defeats Rochester for championship
By JIM BASTIAN Journal Sports Writer
Staff photo by Steve Muscatello
NEW ULM — Apple Valley scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning and four runs in the fourth as it cruised to its first Upper Midwest Classic Baseball title with an 8-2 win over Rochester on Sunday at Johnson Park.
Scott Lyden got the pitching win for Post 1776, which went 6-1 in the tournament
Blaine Arens took the loss for Rochester, which was denied its sixth Classic title.
Eric Fabry led the Apple Valley attack with three hits. He had a single, double and triple. Brandon Peterson drove in three runs.
Leon Clark had two of Rochester’s five hits.
Apple Valley, which advanced to the title game by a 16-6 win over Oakdale earlier in the day, plated two first-inning runs.
Andrew Stitt led off the first with a single and scored on Eric Fabry’s triple. Fabry scored on an error later in the inning.
Post 1776 pushed across four more runs in the fourth inning to salt the game away.
Stitt and Fabry singled before Steve McGuiggan laced the third base-hit of the inning. But Stitt was thrown out at home trying to score on McGuiggan’s base-hit to left field.
A walk to Jordan Buck and an RBI single from Coru Eul made it 3-0.
Brandon Peterson followed with a three-run triple to deep center field that put Apple Valley in the driver’s seat.
Rochester, which reached the title game with an 8-3 win over Eastview, touched Apple Valley starter Scott Lyden for two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Bryan Dennison and Leon Clark singled and Mike DeBolt reached on a fielder’s choice.
With the bases loaded, Lyden walked Justin Streiff and Dan Hagesheimer to force in both Rochester runs.
Apple Valley countered with two insurance runs in the top of the seventh.
Stitt was hit by a pitch to reach base in all five of his at-bats. He scored on Fabry’s double before Fabry raced home on Buck’s single to close out the scoring.
Burnsville was awarded the Sportsmanship Trophy after the game.
Pool results
POOL “A”
Eastview 3-1 (29 runs scored, eight runs allowed). Apple Valley 3-1 (34 runs scored, 16 runs allowed) New Ulm Gold 3-1 ( 24 runs scored, 14 runs allowed) Creighton Prep 2-2 25 runs scored, 23 runs allowed) Omaha 1-3 (20 runs scored, 28 runs allowed) Saulte Ste. Marie 004 ( seven runs scored, 50 runs allowed)
POOL “B”
Oakdale 4-0 ( 20 runs scored, nine runs allowed) Rochester 3-1 ( 22 runs scored, eight runs allowed) Sioux Falls 2-2 (29 runs scored, 25 runs allowed) Burnsville 1-4 (11 runs scored, 11 runs allowed) New Ulm Blue 1-4 ( 19 runs scored 37 runs allowed) Sleepy Eye 1-4 ( 19 runs scored, 40 runs allowed). Apple Valley advances with two wins Apple Valley 13, Omaha 3
NEW ULM — Apple Valley 10-runned Omaha 13-3 in five innings at the Upper Midwest Classic at Mueller Park.
Nick Elioff earned the win for Apple Valley. Elioff pitched four innings, allowing three runs on three hits with four walks.
The losing pitcher for Omaha was Adam Wachtler. He pitched 3 2/3 innings, allowing nine earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts.
Apple Valley was led by Erik Fabry, who was 3-for-5 with two doubles, three RBIs and a run scored. Brandon Peterson was 1-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs and Chad Eul was 2-for-3 with a triple, RBI and two runs scored.
Jared Hogan went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and scored a run for Omaha.
Apple Valley 13,
Sault Ste. Marie 3
Apple Valley defeated Sault Ste. Marie 13-3 in five innings at Mueller Park.
Kent Huls earned the win for Apple Valley. He pitched a complete game, allowing three runs, five hits and three strikeouts.
Rico Castro took the loss for Sault Ste. Marie as he allowed six runs on seven hits in two innings.
Apple Valley’s Fabry had a two-run home run to left field in third inning, a single and had three RBIs. Cory Evl went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple and had three RBIs. Scott Lyden was 1-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs for Apple Valley.
Oakdale won Pool B by going 4-0 and will play Apple Valley, which went 3-1 in Pool A, at noon today.
Rochester went 3-1 and is the runner-up in Pool B. The A’s will play Eastview, which went 3-1 in Pool A, at 9 a.m. today. All games are at Johnson Park.
The winners of each game will square off in the Upper Midwest Classic championship at 2:30 p.m.
Legion Gold falls to Apple Valley
By JIM BASTIAN — Journal Sports Writer
NEW ULM — In a game where each team’s defense allowed two unearned runs to the other, maybe it was appropriate that the eventual game-winning run was the only earned run of the game.
Andrew Stitt’s two-out single in the top of the sixth inning scored Kyle Schlesser from second as Apple Valley topped New Ulm Gold 3-2 Friday night in the Upper Midwest Classic.
Gold had a chance in the to potentially tie or win the game in the bottom of the seventh inning but Chad Eul got Ben Wolf to fly out to center field with New Ulm runners on second and third to end the game.
Eul struck out one and walked three while hitting two New Ulm batters. Both New Ulm’s runs — scored in the second — were unearned..
Brady Mosenden took the loss for New Ulm Gold. The righthander scattered five hits but his defense committed three errors, two of which resulted in two runs.
No Apple Valley player had more than one hit in the game.
Ryan Domeier had three of Gold’s six hits including a double.
For New Ulm Gold coach Doug Radloff, it was a case of his team not playing its normal game with errors, missed signs and base running mistakes.
“It is hard to win when you have three errors, miss signs and have mistakes on the bases,” he said. “We did things tonight that we have not done all season. But tonight we had a game that caught up to us. This was a team that we should have beaten but we let it get away from us.”
Gold scored first thanks to two Apple Valley errors in the second inning.
Domeier started the inning by beating out an infield single to deep shortstop and then stole second. Jonathon Curry was hit by a pitch with one out. Wade French slapped a groundball to third where Domeier scored on a throwing error. Curry scored on the second error of the game when Apple Valley leftfielder Erik Fabry dropped a Drew Wenninger fly ball for a 2-0 lead.
Apple Valley used the first of three errors by New Ulm to cut the lead to 2-1 in the third.
Scott Lyden was hit by a pitch before Fabry slapped a one-out single to left field.
After Mosenden retired Steve McGuiggan for the second out, Jordan Buck hit a groundball to Nate VanRoekel at third. He fielded it cleanly but his throw to second in an attempt to retire Fabry sailed into right field allowing Lyden to score.
Gold mounted a scoring threat in the fourth when Domeier led off with a double and went to third on a passed ball. Curry was again hit by a pitch to put runners on first and third with one out.
But Domeier was out at home when French missed a squeeze bunt before French flew out to left field to end the inning.
“We have been doing those things well all year,” Radloff said. “But tonight we did not do the job.”
Apple Valley knotted the game in the fifth when McGuiggan singled and stole second. He went to third on a Buck flyout to right field for the second out and then scored when VanRoekel misplayed a Cory Eul groundball.
“Nate has been playing left field for us and it is a tough transition for him to go to third like that,” Radloff said. “He has only played third for us once or twice. Normally, he would make those plays.”
The loss means that New Ulm Gold will likely have to win both of its games today against Eastview and Creighton to have a chance to play on Sunday.
Section: Sports Posted: 7/7/2007
AV 76ers' fast start could have been even better, coach says
By mike Shaughnessy • Sun newspapers
(Created: Wednesday, July 4, 2007 9:54 PM CDT)
Standards are high in the Apple Valley American Legion baseball program, which helps explain why head coach Bruce Young has a "yes ... but" reaction to his team's 13-4 start.
Yes, it's a good record, Young said. But, he added, it's not as good as it could be.
"To me, we should be 17-0," he said. "From the players' standpoint, they'd say we've done fairly well. From the coaches' standpoint, we haven't played to our potential yet."
Several players have missed games because of injuries or other commitments, making continuity difficult to establish.
"By the end of the year, if all the parts come together, we'll be a force," Young said.
The voters on the weekly state American Legion baseball poll already consider the 76ers a force. Apple Valley was third in last week's rankings, trailing two teams (Eden Prairie and Burnsville) that all draw their athletes from the Lake Conference.
Last week, Apple Valley defeated Burnsville 9-8 in a Third District League game at Legion Field. Over the weekend, the team split two games with Eagan, winning the first 19-4 but losing the second 15-3. The rematch against Eagan was the first time in 14 years Apple Valley was on the losing end of a game cut short by the 10-run rule.
Apple Valley played Rosemount and West St. Paul in league games earlier this week. The 76ers begin a stretch of 14 games in 10 days when they open play in the New Ulm Invitational Friday, July 6.
The 76ers will need all the pitching depth they can find over the next 10 days, which takes them through pool play at the Gopher Classic tournament July 13-15. They have four starting pitchers and several other position players who can work some innings on the mound.
Right-handers Joe Erb, Nick Elioff, Kent Huls and David Sampson are pitchers, as are left-handers Justin Radde and Kyle Schlesser.
The team averages more than eight runs a game, which Young attributes to a balanced lineup that isn't overly dependent on any one player.
"What's gotten us this far is different guys delivering at different times," he said.
Brandon Peterson was 5-for-5 in Apple Valley's victory over Eagan last Saturday. Catcher Jordan Buck and outfielder Cory Eul also have had some key hits.
The 76ers top player is probably outfielder Steve McGuiggan, who will play Division I baseball at Illinois-Chicago. He had a slow start offensively in the Legion season but is beginning to hit better, Young said.
Eul and Erik Fabry will be seniors at Eastview High School in the fall. Infielder Chad Eul is a 2006 Eastview graduate now at Gustavus Adolphus College. The other 76ers players are either 2007 graduates of Apple Valley High School or will be AVHS seniors in the fall.
A separate Legion team for Eastview players started this summer, so the 76ers in the future will have fewer players with Eastview ties.
Team News: 7/1/2007: Two of the most one sided games were played over the weekend with Eagan. The 76ers won the first game played Saturday at Goat Hill 19-4, and lost the Sunday game 15-3 on Sunday played at Legion Field. This is the first time in 14 years that the 76ers lost a league game by the ten run rule. The 76ers record is now 13 - 4. Team News: 6/29/2007: After a Runnerup finish to Sauk Rapids in the St Cloud Tournament last weekend, and a 4 - 1 record, the 76ers returned to League D play and had a successful week beating West St Paul and Burnsville giving the 76ers a 12 - 3 overall record (5-1 league record). Two games this weekend with Eagan (1PM Saturday and 1PM Sunday) both at Goat Hill, and League Games on Monday and Tuesday at Rosemount and West St Paul cover a 4 game away from home stretch before the 4th of July break. Wednesday and Thursday are off days and then the 76ers travel to New Ulm for the New Ulm Midwest Classic Tournament on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Team News: 6/21/2007: After the first week of play the 76ers have a record of 6-2 with a League record of 3-1. Wins over Northfield, Lakeville North and Rosemount round out the the beginning of the 2007 League D Season. The lone league loss was to Chaska. Today, Thursday, is an off night and the team will travel tonight to St Cloud for a weekend tournament beginning Friday at 10AM at Faber Field versus Bemidji. Next League game is West St Paul on Tuesday, June 26 at Legion Field. Apple Valley American Legion Commander died June 4
Posted: 6/15/07
by Jeff Achen
This Week Newspapers
He was an opinionated fellow that didn’t always make a good first impression — and that’s how his friends and family describe him.
But, Jim Gibson had a heart for the youth and anyone who took the opportunity to know him, knew his rough exterior was only a small part of the man.
Jim Gibson, Apple Valley American Legion Post 1776’s commander, died Monday, June 4. His family said he died as a result of lung cancer, but he also had a brain tumor. Jim knew well before his death that he didn’t have long to live.
In May 2007, his doctor discovered the cancer and several nodes throughout his body and informed him that he had anywhere from six months to two-and-a-half years to live.
True to his character, Jim wasn’t going to give up anytime soon, nor was he letting go of his responsibilities.
“He kept it very quiet,” Jim’s son Kevin Gibson said. “He wanted to continue to take on all his regular duties.”
Though his immediate family knew of the severity of his condition, his death shocked most of his co-workers and fellow American Legion members. As far as they were concerned, Jim was going to take on duties as Commander in July, as planned.
“He did not believe for one second that he would not be here to serve,” Jim’s son Bren Gibson said.
That was his way, family says.
“Whatever Jim was in, he just put 110 percent in,” Jim’s ex-wife Mattie Gibson said.
Jim’s reputation for stubbornness manifest itself in many ways. He was a passionate community leader and held an unwavering commitment to youth programs. He was the director of American Legion baseball, running three divisions including the 16-year-old program, the Senior Babe Ruth program and the American Legion team.
He also worked with the Boy Scouts and the oratory competition sponsored by the Legion each year.
American Legion Baseball Coach Bruce Young said he realized just how much Jim did after he died. He said the phone is ringing off the hook with calls asking who will take care of all the little details Jim normally handled.
Despite his occasionally abrasive exterior, Jim made a lasting impression on many around him. His sister, Barb Gibson, said she named two of her children after him. Her son’s middle name is James and her daughter’s name is Jamie.
“He tried to come off as a rough, tough guy,” Barb said. “He’s tough on the outside and on the inside, soft marshmallow.”
Kevin and Bren said they’ve inherited their father’s dedication and drive. They said their father taught them persistence and a good work ethic.
They’ve also inherited the Gibson name, something very important to Jim. When he was born in 1944, his father was fighting overseas in WWII. Upon learning of Jim’s birth, his father wrote a letter home saying how proud he was to finally have a son to carry on the Gibson name. Jim kept that letter.
Bren, who plans to marry in July, had hoped his father would be there. Despite the reality of his cancer, Jim even told Bren that he was looking forward to meeting the grandson that would carry on the Gibson name someday.
He couldn’t look at life any other way. It was just the kind of guy Jim was. Published in the Star Tribune on 6/7/2007. Gibson, James Donald
Gibson, James Donald age 62, of Apple Valley, passed away June 4, 2007. Preceded in death by daughter, Lisa Marie; and parents, Donald "Hoot" and Marie Gibson. Jim was currently the Commander of the Apple Valley Legion Club Post #1776 and worked for Dart Transportation. He is survived by his 2 sons, Kevin and Bren "B.J." (fiancee Karen Wild) Gibson; also by the mother of his sons, Mattie Gibson; siblings, Bonnie Lindsey, Joyce (Jimmie) Looney, Kathy (Lonnie) Landru, Lynda (Miles) Carroll and Barb (Chris Venn) Gibson; many nieces and nephews; and aunt, Marilyn Krick. Funeral service 12:00 Noon Monday 6/11 at the White Funeral Home Chapel, 14560 Pennock Ave. with visitation Sunday from 4-8 PM also at the funeral home, and one hour prior to service. Interment Fort Snelling National Cemetery. White Funeral Home Apple Valley 952-432-2001
May 25, 2007: Six players return with American Legion experience to the 2007 76ers' Roster, led by Centerfielder and three year starter and standout, Steve McGuiggan. Steve led the 76ers in most hitting categories in 2006 and hit for a strong .480 average last summer. Steve was instrumental in leading his high school team to the 2006 Minnesota State High School Championship and in 2007 has captained his Apple Valley High School Team to a first place finish in the Lake Conference High School League. Other returning players are pitchers Cory Eul, Erik Fabry, Nick Elioff and Kyle Schlesser. Erik Fabry will also see action in the outfield and Chad Eul, a Gustavus freshman returns and joins brother Cory in the infield when Cory is not pitching. Andrew Stitt is a first year legion player and like McGuiggan and others has played on the last two Apple Valley High School teams and brings experience to a completely new 76ers' infield in 2007. Strong pitching performances by newcomers Kent Huls, Joe Erb, Scott Lyden, Richard Novak and Brandon Peterson have led the Apple Valley High School Team this spring and bring high hopes for the coming American Legion Season. First game will be played versus St Paul Park on June 12. |
|